The Refuge
by Ember Nickel
Summary: When the Yeerks threaten the Andalites' forest, Lando and the gang call upon an unlikely source to thwart their plan. But meanwhile, his crush is harboring a secret of her own.


For the purposes of this AU, Jyn's human morph is predominantly male; the humans refer to Jyn as "he" in morph and "she" in Andalite form. To be fair, that's probably the least weird thing about this crossover.

* * *

My name is Lando Calrissian.

I used to be a normal guy. I worried about stuff like my locker getting stuck or staying awake through drivers' ed or having the nerve to ask Ellie Reese to the Valentines' Dance. Now, I worry about getting trapped in the body of a falcon or watching everyone I know be possessed by alien slugs.

That's life as a Changeling. My friends and I, alien and human alike, are all that's standing between Earth and the Yeerks, a bunch of slimy creeps from across the galaxy who crawl into people's brains and control them. They could be your pastor, your coach, your principal, and you wouldn't know until it was too late.

Kinda puts a jammed locker into perspective.

I was kicking it and idly wondering if turning into a lizard would let me sneak inside, when Han kind of casually bumped into me. Han and I were best friends before we became Changelings, which is good. Both because he's definitely the kind of guy you want on your side when the world turns to hell, and because he has an excuse to pass me in the hall if he needs to pass along news from our alien friends. I mean, it'd be kind of weird if I went out of my way to hang out with a dweeb freshman like Luke.

(Han probably needs to "bump into" Leia, our unofficial-official leader, at some point, to ask _her_ to the Valentines' Dance. But there's no way I'm going to say that out loud.)

"Hey," I said, not looking up from my locker. "What's up?"

"Not too much," he said. "Could you help me with that English project? Maybe around six?"

That meant "meet in the woods, probably flying out, to catch up with the Andalites." "How about 6:30?" I asked. "Mom probably wants a family dinner, you know how it is."

Han gave me a look that suggested, in fact, he did not know how it is. "That should work," he said.

Then he hit the adjacent locker with his shoulder, and mine popped open. I swear, some people have all the luck.

* * *

I've learned a lot about animals in the last few months. I can tell you what it feels like to be a bird coasting on the thermals. Or a leopard jumping to claw at an enemy. Or a fly trying to take in the world through compound eyes.

But I'll admit I'm not an expert on forests, especially state parks that have a bunch of different trees. Deciduous? Evergreen? _Derrishoul_? Okay, that one's not from Earth.

So when Jyn, our youngest Andalite friend, starts going on about [the moss on this bark is particularly pungent,] I tend to tune her out. In the meeting, however, she was all business, fixing us with her four eyes—two on her face and two on her stalks.

[There is a small building on the edge of the forest. Recently repurposed by a human logging corporation, and guarded by humans with weapons.] she explained. [When I approached in robin morph, I found that I could not enter within the perimeter. There is some kind of force field protecting it.]

"So the Yeerks want to infest lumberjacks now? Aren't there endangered species here?" Luke asked. Like I said, he's kind of a dweeb.

"No," said Leia. "They're looking for the Andalites. Or—people they _think_ are Andalites."

See, the Andalites were the only species with the morphing technology, until recently. Prince Obiwan gave us the power, but the Yeerks have only seen us in animal form, so they assume we're "Andalite bandits" too.

"It would be good for you guys to have some kind of backup plan," Han pointed out. "Just in case."

"I agree that _aristh_ Jynerso may be able to effectively camouflage herself within the human world,] Chirrut pointed out carefully. [And Commander Baze, if he so chooses, could perhaps benefit from doing so as well. But I would tread lightly around ordering him to adopt a disguise.]

[Our blade is our honor,] Baze snapped. [Our eyes, our hooves, our fur, each a product of millennia of evolution. I will not allow some _dapsen_ Yeerks to dissuade me from this refuge.]

"Dapsen?" Leia echoed.

[It was the name on the building,] said Jyn. [More evidence that it's Yeerk-operated. It's a Yeerkish word that...well, never mind what it means.]

Han laughed. It figured, the first aliens to come to Earth would spend half their time trying to enslave us all and the other half making inappropriate puns.

"Can we sneak in?" I asked. "You know, figure out how to take it down from the inside?"

"They'll be looking for us," Leia pointed out. "Our attack morphs, anyway. So we have to be stealthy."

"Flies are pretty unintrusive," said Luke.

[The force field extends some distance into the air,] Jyn reminded us, [as I was unable to penetrate it.]

"Can't go over," said Leia. "Can we go underneath?"

"You mean, like, moles?" Luke asked. "I don't think my dad has any of those lying around." Luke's dad is a vet, which makes his place good for acquiring morphs. And for hanging out for human-only debriefings.

"Maybe smaller."

[There are many insects in this area,] Chirrut said. [We can be on the lookout for some burrowing ones for you to acquire.]

"You'll need some kind of container or something," Han said. "I'll bring one by."

"What, you're just going to fly it out here in your little falcon claws?" I said. "Or are you and Jyn tag-teaming?"

"Guys," said Leia, "this is serious."

"All right, all right," said Han. "We'll find a way, we always do."

"Even when we'd rather not," Luke said. No one needed to say the word _ants_.

* * *

I think Einstein said something about time being relative. For instance, when you're fighting for your life in the bottom of a Yeerk pool and only have two hours to get out of there before you're trapped as a leopard forever, an hour is really short.

When you're stuck in a boring algebra class, an hour is really, really, long.

I was staring at Ms. Nguyen's scrawl of x's and y's and digits when Han elbowed me. "Get it over with, already," he hissed.

"Is this about the, uh, the thing, with the..." I was too tired to remember our codes. "The English class?"

"What English class? No!"

"You know," I said, sitting up and blinking. "The _English class_."

"Ohhhh, no, not _that_ English class. Listen—"

"Mr. Calrissian? Mr. Solo?" Ms. Nguyen asked. "If you have questions about the material, I strongly suggest you raise your hand. Remember, if you think something is confusing, there are a lot of other people who probably have the same question. So don't be scared to ask."

I wished I had a question that she could answer, like how to FOIL products, rather than a scary question like how to foil seven-foot-tall Hork-Bajir Controllers. Instead I just said "sorry" and shut up, hoping Han would take the hint.

At least he waited till after class to elbow me. "Stop drooling over Ellie Reese and ask her out already. You look pathetic."

I opened my mouth, then I closed it. "Look," I finally said, "_you_ aren't one to talk, I notice a distinct lack of asking-out on your part."

"That's different."

"No it's not."

"She's my, our, uh, you know. Princess." That was a Jyn thing. She insisted the leader of the group had to be the Prince, and despite Baze and Chirrut having vastly more experience with the whole war thing, Jyn had latched onto Leia as our leader. "I can't just invite her to the dance."

"Oh, and I can invite Ellie? At least Leia knows what you're going through, most people have no idea."

"We have to have some friends that are normal. So we don't go crazy."

"Little late for that," I muttered, as I made my way to study hall.

* * *

I couldn't make out the cabin from the air. I was just following the same path to the Andalites' hideout that I'd flown so many times.

When you morph, you return to the same DNA of the creature you acquired, not any changes or injuries that have taken place in the meantime. This is pretty important for us, because it means we can morph out of severe wounds and use the same bodies again. But it also means the route isn't something stored in the bird's memory; it's just become second nature to me. Weird how fast you can take things for granted.

[Hey,] I called. [It's just me. Anybody home?]

[This is not our home,] Jyn responded stiffly. [But we are all still present and alive.]

[Works for me,] I said, descending to the grass and starting to demorph.

"I, uh, had an idea I wanted to run past you. Maybe crazy, but hear me out."

[If you have a strategic recommendation, you ought to confide in Prince Leia.] That was Jyn, of course. Light-years away from home and she still needed a chain of command.

[Let him speak,] said Chirrut. [Humans have their own way of doing things.]

"Yeah," I said. "That's what I came to ask about. We...we haven't ever morphed people before, you know, like other humans. It seemed weird, to just make a copy of their DNA without asking. Do you guys do that? Andalites?]

[Why do you ask?] Baze said. He was turned away from me, wading in a narrow creek, but his stalk eyes swiveled to face me.

"Just in case we can't find a bug or something that would let us sneak into the cabin. What if we track one of their employees, knock them out once they're a little ways away, morph them, and just waltz right on in?"

Chirrut gave what I was coming to recognize as an eye-smile. [Your idea bears consideration. More often, when our morphers conduct espionage, they use the _hoober_ insect—but as there are none to be found here, we must be willing to adapt.]

[This region is rich in biodiversity,] Baze pointed out. [And the planet as a whole features far more microclimates than our own world.]

[Then perhaps you can investigate some underground animals,] said Chirrut. I couldn't tell if he was teasing. Sometimes those two seemed like lifelong best friends, which they were, and other times like there was an undercurrent of anger. [_Aristh_ Calrissian, might I ask you a favor? There are some beautiful tall grasses slightly upriver, and I would need the help of a human to identify them.]

"You probably know more than I do."

He directed another message to me in private. [I wish to speak to you in private. Away from Commander Baze.]

I froze up. We were all on the same side, weren't we? Why the need for secrecy?

"Do you mind if I morph?" I asked. "The falcon's eyes are better than humans'. For, you know. Looking at grass." And if I was in morph, I could thoughtspeak to Jyn or Baze if something went wrong.

[That's fine with me.]

Ignoring Jyn's stare, I quickly became the bird again, my arms shrinking and sprouting feathers, my feet hardening into talons. Then I followed Chirrut around the river. Needless, really. Once I'd morphed, we could speak privately without the others overhearing us. But all the same.

[Your species has adjusted to rapid technological change,] Chirrut said bluntly. [At the beginning of this century, you created your first primitive heavier-than-air flying machines. Less than seventy of your Earth years later, humans walked on the surface of your moon.]

[We're on Earth, Chirrut, they're everyone's years.]

He ignored me. [Us Andalites, we have remained much the same for thousands upon thousands of years. When a new technology arises, it can be—unsettling. The Princes, they give us guidance and direction, as to how we might use it to best serve the people.]

[Oookay.]

[Among the first volunteers who experimented with the technology, there were...casualties. We discovered the two-hour morphing limit by accident. But there were deserters. A pilot overstayed his time in morph deliberately to become a _kafit _bird and flee the battlefield. A criminal performed a _Frolis_ to avoid DNA evidence linking him to his crimes. A scientist dying of old age became a young woman again, to continue experimenting.]

[Is that so bad?] I asked. [The un-aging thing. The crime stuff sounds awkward.]

[For many years we have feared the overpopulation of our planet. Even with Dome ships, it is hard to find other worlds where the grass fosters the right nutrients. Only in the advent of the war have many of the population controls been ignored or removed entirely. So the old extending their days at the expense of the young? Yes, the princes found it dishonorable! And they have laid down clear rules about the misuse of the Escafil device for one's own gain.]

[I still don't see what that has to do with us, though. I mean, we wouldn't be turning into guards forever. Just long enough to get inside and look around.]

[I agree, and I suspect Leia will feel the same. I only wish to caution you that Baze may be reluctant to discuss these sorts of uses of the morphing technology. Holding onto rituals, even new ones, helps him remain tethered to our home.]

[It must be lonely,] I said. [But he has you. And Jyn.]

[He certainly does,] said Chirrut. [Let us hope that will suffice.]

He said nothing more, and I glided back to demorph with the others.

* * *

"Uh, hey," I said. Great start, Calrissian. _Hey_. "Ellie?"

"Mm?" She was down in her locker, at the downstairs bay where most of the band kids are. She plays something huge. French horn, I think?

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Valentines' Dance?"

She blinked. "Like, with you?"

_No, Ellie, with the creepy space alien possessing Mr. Valdez._ "Yeah, me."

"When is it?"

"The Friday before Valentine's Day," I said. There was playing hard-to-get, and then there was acting like you didn't know the calendar! Even Jyn knew enough to call it _February, _not _your_ February.

"Oh." Shrug. "Yeah, sounds good."

"Awesome! I can, uh, I can pick you up."

"Thanks."

"You live over by the...the library?"

"Sort of," she said. At least she gave me her address. Not that I was going to stake it out in falcon morph or anything. I might have a little bit of a vigilante act going, but I'm not a stalker.

"Cool," I said. "Looking forward to it!"

"Uh-huh." She turned and hefted her French horn. Seeing her up close I realized how short she was. Mostly I'd only seen her in the band, or sitting down, where she looked taller.

Whatever. It hadn't been the smoothest operation of my life, but it was something.

"And it gives me something else to live for," I explained to Han. "You know. So I'm not allowed to get myself killed in a blaze of glory at the Dapsen HQ."

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sure Prince Leia will take that into account."

"You haven't asked her yet?" I jabbed.

He ignored me. Figured.

* * *

The plan wasn't too subtle, when you got right down to it. A couple of us, in bird morph, would follow a Controller out of the building. Once they got out of sight of their colleagues, knock them out. Then one of us would acquire them, and sneak on in.

There were a lot of things that could go wrong. If the other Controllers asked "where'd you go." If the unconscious guy came to too soon. If they only moved in squadrons of a dozen.

But it was something. And so far, our somethings have been pretty good.

Luke and Han drew bird duty. [Got one,] said Luke. [Human. Kind of a short guy, um, with a buzz cut. Coming up at 10:00.]

[Whose 10:00?] Leia called from next to me. She was in coyote morph. [Yours or mine?]

[We're on Earth, it's everybody's 10:00,] Han cracked.

[Oh, come on—]

[Now!] Luke called. [On your left!]

I leaped. Leia sliced.

The Controller pulled a Dracon beam! But he wasn't fast enough. I knocked him over, and we went flying through the undergrowth. Through layers of unfamiliar plants the Yeerks wanted to slice through, looking for us.

He stirred, half-conscious, and Leia kicked him in the head. He didn't move after that.

[All right,] she said. [Jyn, over to you.]

Nobody really liked the idea of Jyn going in alone. But try as we might, we hadn't been able to get past the force field even in fly morph, and there was no guarantee that sticking close to Jyn would change that. Chirrut, it seemed, couldn't even morph at all, and as expected, Baze didn't like the idea. That left us kids, and as Jyn said, [Your human knowledge would not be adequate to disable the Yeerks' security systems.]

"That's not fair," Luke had pointed out. "I crash my mom's computer all the time without even trying."

Jyn darted over to acquire the human. [It's dangerous always leaving the human-Controllers alive,] she said, as she began to morph. [The Yeerks can only be fooled so long by the assumption that you are "Andalite Bandits."]

[Are you saying you'd just kill us all?] Han asked. [Don't know about you, but I'm fighting to save the human race here. Even the captured ones.]

[More importantly,] Luke said, [you can't acquire DNA from a corpse.]

Jyn, taking the hint, finished the morph. He was now wearing nothing more than an oversized version of our typical morphing suits; it seemed not even the furry Andalites had the hang of generating clothing. Since I couldn't roll my eyes in leopard form, I simply demorphed and helped Han strip down the unconscious guard, passing off his outer clothes, badges, and Dracon beams.

"I will be very inconspicuous," said Jyn. "Con-SPIC-you-us."

He stretched out his arms as if for balance before wobbling back towards the path. Wordlessly, we retreated to bird morph, ready for a quick retreat.

Minutes passed. The Andalites are better at gauging the passage of time than we are, which is especially helpful when we're in morph. It was a small relief to know that we couldn't go in guns blazing, because the force field would knock us back if we tried. Very small.

Finally, a message in thoughtspeak. [Prince Leia, I have accessed the Yeerk computer system and disabled the force field. You may enter at your leisure.]

[Great,] said Leia. [Fly morphs, let's go.]

Turning into a fly is about as creepy as it sounds. But the range of motion! Even falcons can't hover or whiz straight up like a fly.

We raced to the cabin. The fly brain was mostly distracted by smells. Apparently it wasn't the kind of base that the Yeerks brought their Hork-Bajir or Taxxon-Controllers to, because it mostly just smelled like human. Lumberjack humans with a side of alien computers.

Resisting the instinct to scope out the bathrooms, we followed Jyn's directions to a sort of file room. [This is a very impressive technology,] she noted. [Physical documentation to preserve your data! This could survive an electronic power outage.]

[Yeah, yeah, paper is awesome,] said Luke. [Probably why the Yeerks want to cut down these trees in the first place.]

[Really?]

[More human humor,] Leia explained. [I'm going to demorph. Get a good look at some of these files.]

[Prince Leia...] Jyn trailed off, caught between her formality and whatever further misgivings she had about this already shaky plan.

[What?] Leia snapped. [We don't have all day.]

[If the Yeerks were to find you in human form, it could be very dangerous.]

[If they find _you_ in Andalite form we'll have bigger problems on our hands,] said Leia. Technically, Jyn's human forms were morphs too; we didn't know why he couldn't thoughtspeak from them. Baze thought it was something weird about mouths.

More silence. It wasn't easy to keep a lookout when we didn't have normal eyes. At least if there was someone approaching we could probably smell them coming.

Leia must have said something, because Jyn responded. [If they are going to all this trouble to obtain human records, they will likely notice if something is out of place.]

And then: [Prince Leia would like me to relay her orders to leave. I will follow in fly morph.]

[And Leia?] Han asked.

[Prince Leia considers it tactically necessary to remain in a form with hands,] said Jyn, in a thoughtspeak voice that suggested what she thought of that plan.

Yet despite Leia's bravado, we made it out of the cabin without triggering the force field. Past the unconscious, half-naked guy. And back to the clearing where we impatiently waited for Leia's slow human feet to catch up.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, thrusting a form covered in legalese at us.

"Um...great," said Han.

Luke spoke for all of us when he asked "What are we looking at, here?"

"State DNR forms," she said. "This is a protected area, they definitely haven't infested all these people. We'd know."

"Would we?" I asked. I'm not completely out of it, I would recognize the governor if I saw her on TV, but ask me about the city council or some of the school board nonsense and I'll give you an Andalite-in-headlights look. Hard to keep up with the local news when I'm trying to live long enough to reach voting age.

"I would," said Leia.

"Your parents know all those guys," said Luke. "That doesn't count."

Leia stared distantly, as if checking for Taxxons in a nearby tree. "What is it?" Han asked.

"I was thinking," she said. "Maybe I could just bring it up to my mom. If there was a case of fraud, she'd bring down the hammer. But—if we're wrong—I don't want to put her at risk. I know it's not fair, but I don't want to lose her."

[It is sensible,] said Jyn. [Your freedom to move around would be significantly curtailed if your parents were infested.]

"I'll think about it," she said. "For now, get some rest."

* * *

Leia cornered me before school a couple days later. "Can you help me out?"

"State regulations again?" I raised my eyebrows. "I can forge a couple signatures, if that's what you need."

"Something a little more your department. You're, uh, into fashion, right?"

"Sort of," I said. "I mean, that's kind of how we got into this mess in the first place. Me dragging Han around the Gap."

Mall rats. That's what we'd been, once. Luke at the arcade, Leia just needing to relax. Before we'd met Obiwan. It already seemed like years ago.

"Jyn kind of asked me to the dance," Leia said, looking around to make sure we weren't being overheard. "And, well, you know what would look good on a dude..."

"Seriously? You're the p—the boss, can't you just refuse?"

"I think it'd be fun," said Leia. "I mean, come on, she's pretty...isolated. From friends, you know?"

"So go to the zoo, check out the horses."

"Fine."

"Hey, hey, I'll do it," I said. "You _need _my help. To be stealthy, and all."

"Stealthy. Right."

"There's such a thing as refuge in audacity, you know?"

Anyway, that's how I wound up giving Jyn a tour of the mall, which mostly consisted of me yelling at him not to eat things. "These buttons have such a delightful texture!" he protested. "Tecks. Shure."

"They're a little outside your price range," I explained.

"My financial resources are very deep. Dee-puh."

"How? You don't even have a job."

"While using the Dapsen computers, I gained access to a human banking system and rerouted large amounts of money to a restricted account. Strick-ted. Baze and I can ack-ack-access it from Han's house."

"Great. Hacking _and_ sabotage."

"I have been very-re-restrained. I have not used this money to purchase delicious cigarette butts even once. One-suh."

"Good, you can get them for free in the trash—that's not a suggestion, by the way. Here, let's get you a watch."

I led Jyn over to the display case; fortunately, the clerk was busy helping someone else buy earrings. "They help you tell the time," I said. "So you know how long you've been, uh, standing around somewhere."

"Your wrists must be very strong to support these. Suh-port."

"Yeah, well, evolution is great. Millions of years to perfect the opposable thumb, and have wrists strong enough to wear watches."

Blank stare.

"More sarcasm. Okay, these are digital, these are analog, they're a little classier."

Jyn held up a chintzy digital watch, warily. "Even hu—your culture agrees that the chips needed to program one of these are simple technology. Ch-ch-chips are a pleasant sound. Especially the sound of tortilla chips."

"Not now."

"Why are the analog ones more expensive? It is more difficult to estimate the passage of your minutes. Minnnn."

"They're everybody's minutes. And they're...fancy."

We got the digital watch. Let Jyn save the secret bank account for something important, like pizza delivery.

* * *

We were in world history when Han passed me a paper under the table.

"Is this something we can discuss as a class?" sneered Mr. Ross. I wouldn't wish infestation on anyone, but he's the kind of guy whose personality would probably improve if he'd been replaced by a Yeerk.

"Uh," I said, unfolding the paper and winging it. It was one of those city papers that shows up, half-drenched, in the mailbox every week. "_Softball team seeks improvement ahead of new season_. Hey, they have an interview with Ms. Dunworthy!"

"Flip it over," Han said. "Bottom left."

"State...DNR...shuts down illegal logging camp," I read. "Following an investigation launched by the _Star-Times_, local authorities fined a major corporation for attempting to make inroads on the state park without proper authorization. Senator Bail Organa has described it as 'a shameful end-run around our system of checks and balances,' see page 5."

"Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention," said Mr. Ross. "Perhaps you can write a compare-and-contrast paper next unit when we touch on colonization in the Amazon region."

"Yeah, really looking forward to that," Han said. Ross gave an Andalite-looking face of "too clueless to pick up on the sarcasm" while I wadded the paper into a ball and flung it into the recycling bin. Nothing but trash.

"I was gonna read that," Han complained afterwards as we headed for lunch.

"No you weren't," I said.

"You're probably right."

"So that's it, then? No top-secret mission? Jyn and the others are safe?"

"Just this once, we do it the easy way," he said. "It's good to know people who know people."

I couldn't argue with him on that. Sometimes it felt bizarre to be bossed around by a tiny freshman, but Leia had what it took to be a princess.

* * *

"Nice car," said Ellie, flipping her ponytail behind her.

I couldn't tell if she was joking. My mom has a fancy Chevrolet she's pretty proud of, and paranoid about, so I learned to drive on my dad's beat-up Saturn that runs either too hot or too cold. I couldn't complain; they let me test as soon as I turned sixteen. The only issue was when my dad wanted to use it, and I was still stuck walking places. Like the walk back from the mall that kind of derailed my life.

But at least I was able to drive to the dance. "Thanks," I managed, as she hopped into the shotgun seat.

The dance was...I wouldn't say "bad." I mean, Ellie was adorable, she had this bright red sweater on and cute gold shoes. But there's only so much that the administration can do to change a high school cafeteria into a dance floor, which mostly consists of folding up the tables and wheeling them towards the walls, and blasting a lot of out-of-date music that maybe they thought was cool but clearly nobody under the age of twenty cared about.

The good news is, there were snacks. The bad news is, there were lines for the snacks.

"Hello, Lando!" Jyn grinned. He actually looked pretty good too, for a _Frolis _hybrid. "I am waiting for punch. Wayyyy-ting-ing."

Leia shot me an exhausted look. Andalites don't have mouths, so they get really excited about taste in human form, at least from our sample size of Baze and Jyn.

"Need me to cut in?" I asked. Was Han really too cool to tag along?

"I think I'm fine," said Leia. "Maybe later."

Ellie and I wandered over to a far wall, trying to hear ourselves think over a crowd of sophomores who were way too into the Macarena. "So what do you do for fun?" she asked. "I feel like I've seen you around."

_Fight aliens, try not to get killed. _"Video games, I guess," I said. "Mario, soccer, that kind of thing." Plus a few that Han got from who-knows-where that my parents probably would not approve of us playing in our house. Were girls grossed out by that kind of violence? I stifled a grin, thinking of Leia. Maybe not.

"Oh," said Ellie. "That's neat. My dad does some tech support stuff at the university so he's all, like, 'kids these days and their graphics.'"

"How about you?"

"Volunteering stuff. My church group helps out at this food pantry sometimes, and I like it, but I'm not really sure if I really believe everything they say."

"Looks good on college applications, anyway."

"Yeah. And I've been getting into this group called the Sharing."

I almost choked on my punch. Ellie was a Controller? Could she be _voluntary_? Or was she, maybe, just a new recruit, who hadn't been made a "full member" yet?

"...they're pretty nice, all-ages, and they have some fun social events too," she was going on. "You okay?"

"Uh-huh," I gulped. I couldn't warn her, couldn't tell her the truth. Unless there was some other way…"It's just, you know Qi'ra?"

"Sure," Ellie went on. "She's one of their leaders, actually! She's really neat."

"She and Han—my best friend—were going out for a while. And she broke up with him around the time she joined. It was kind of like she didn't have time for her old friends, her old life anymore. So he's kind of touchy about it." I waved to the crowd, where the annoying sophomores were now screaming along to some movie song. "Probably why he was too cool to show up here tonight."

"Old friends. I get it." Ellie smiled. And then she gave me a hug, which felt nice under the circumstances. The circumstances being that she was so much shorter than me, and was also probably a Controller.

Before I could try to make a move, she'd pulled away. "I'm getting more snacks, want anything?"

"I'm good," I said, and tried to look like I was tapping my toes.

Fortunately, Leia gave me an excuse to make an escape shortly after. "It's getting _late_," she said pointedly. "I think we might be heading out soon."

I nodded. "I was just going to the bathroom. Too much punch."

That meant it was time to stand guard for Jyn, just to be on the safe side. We walked down to the boys' room, and I checked that the coast was clear before he ducked into the large stall.

And then a moment later, a freshman in spandex walked out of the allegedly empty first stall. "Hey," said Luke.

"What are you _doing_?" I hissed.

He shrugged. "Hanging out."

"You couldn't just go to the dance by yourself like a normal kid, you had to turn into a—a—"

"Spider," he filled in. "I think technically it's called a wolf spider. And yes, I did, this is way more fun than some dance. Besides—"

"Besides what?" asked Jyn, reemerging. "Be-be-be-sides!"

"Never mind," said Luke. "We'll talk later."

Ellie, or the Yeerk within her, was ready to leave soon after. I drove her home quietly, a small part of me glad that Han hadn't gotten the nerve to invite Leia or anybody else. I knew he would be unbearable once he realized I'd been crushing on a member of the Sharing, too.

* * *

As it turned out, I had bigger problems than Han. Maybe, somehow, bigger than the Sharing.

Luke had called a meeting, and it had taken a couple days for Leia and me to both be clear of family obligations on the same night. But we'd made our way to the clearing, awaiting Luke's news.

"So," he went on, "I was at the dance, in spider morph."

[That is an irresponsible use of technology,] Baze scolded him. [You are supposed to spy on Yeerks, not fellow students.]

"Prince Obiwan didn't tell us _not_ to creep on humans," Han pointed out.

"Skip it," said Leia. "And?"

"And I saw Lando dancing with Ellie."

"Who had just mentioned being part of the Sharing?" Leia asked.

"Who had just mentioned being part of the Sharing," I confirmed.

"So, the good news is, I don't think she's a Yeerk. The bad news is, I don't think she's human."

"Not human?" I blurted. "She's _definitely_ human, I've—"

"_Skip _it," said Leia.

"—hugged her," I finished.

"Look, spiders see different wavelengths of light than humans," said Luke. "She wasn't humanoid. She was kind of some small dog-thing, underneath, I don't know. A light or a shadow or something."

[Holographic technology,] said Chirrut. [There are ancient species who are said to have mastered it, but no species I know currently pursues it. Androids are brittle. Difficult to adapt.]

"So you think Ellie is a robot?" I asked. "What is this, Star Trek?"

"We're already in Star Trek," Han pointed out. "How much weirder can it get?"

[Why were you observing the students?] Jyn asked. [Did you have reason to suspect this Ellie Reese of being non-biological?]

"What? No. I was bored, and it was better than helping with farm stuff," said Luke.

"Okay," said Leia, before Baze could interrupt. "But she also mentioned being part of the Sharing. Do you think a Yeerk could infest a robot?"

[No,] said Chirrut. [Yeerks require complex brains, such as of a sentient species.]

[Maybe it was a test,] said Jyn. [To see how Lando would react.]

"What for? She didn't follow up," I said.

"You're just annoyed you couldn't get a second date," said Han.

"Huh," I said. "That's an idea." Before Leia could roll her eyes at me, I went on, "I mean, the Sharing does all kinds of social stuff, right? Volleyball and whatever. Maybe I could just tag along to one of those and ask her what she thinks."

[It's dangerous,] said Baze. [If you see something you shouldn't, the Yeerks won't let you go.]

[Do you know where she lives?] Chirrut asked.

"Oh. Yeah, that might be easier."

"We'll bring backup," said Leia. "Sorry you have to sit this one out, Chirrut, but I don't think there are a lot of Andalites walking around the Reeses' subdivision."

[Do not trivialize his affliction,] Baze snapped.

"Affliction?" Luke echoed.

[Don't start,] Jyn sent privately.

We talked more, but I was only half-listening. I knew Leia would do everything she could to keep us safe, and Baze would yell at us if our plan was too stupid.

But for once, I wasn't really worried about us. I was worried about the cute French hornist I thought I knew.

* * *

[I'm just saying,] Luke called, as a seagull, from a nearby telephone pole, [I could have gotten you guys a really nice wolf spider morph. I mean, it's like a wolf. But it's a spider.]

[I have been a wolf,] Jyn reminded us, [scouting out the forest, and they are very different from your Earth arachnids.]

[We're on Earth,] said Han. [They're everyone's arachnids.]

He was a falcon in the tree across the street. Leia, Jyn, and Baze were flies. I didn't really feel like one more fly was going to make a difference, especially if we were trying to preserve the illusion that we were "Andalite bandits," but good luck telling Leia that.

I knocked on the door.

Ellie's mom was a lot taller than her, with a round face. "Hello?" she asked.

"Uh, hi," I said. "I'm Lando, you know, from the dance. Is Ellie here?"

She had to be in on it, didn't she? I mean, last I checked, humans can't give birth to androids.

"Just a minute," she said. "Ellie! It's for you!"

She held the door long enough for the flies to enter unobtrusively. The house looked normal enough: a couple pairs of shoes by the door, some weird abstract art hanging on the wall, the French horn case by the stairs.

Ellie came to the door moments later, blushing slightly. "Hey."

"Hi," I said. "Can we talk?"

"Is this about the other night?"

"Sort of," I said. "You mentioned the Sharing, and, I had some questions."

Ellie and her mom exchanged a glance. "Come inside," said Ellie, closing the door.

We walked back to the family room. It looked a lot neater than my house or Han's, but otherwise, pretty humanoid. A couple tall bookshelves and a TV. I hoped the others were within thoughtspeak range, even if I didn't want them to follow too closely.

"So you decided to check them out?" Ellie asked.

"Not yet," I said. "I had a few questions."

"Sure."

"You said they're open to all kinds of people?"

"Oh yeah. Black people, white people, old, young, whatever."

I nodded, trying to play it cool. If Luke was wrong...No. He could be spacey, but he knew how to morph as well as any of us. "Can I join if I'm a robot?"

"What?"

"Like, a...little metal canine dude that projects holograms, would I still be able to join?"

Ellie stared at me, her dark eyes dead serious. "I think you better explain what you're talking about."

"You first, Ellie. Or whatever your real name is."

And then she smiled, of all things. "I'm Chee-vonil."

"That's not a Yeerk name. Yeerk names have numbers." Or at least that was what Baze said.

"And what's your real name, Lando?"

"I'm just Lando. But, um..." She hadn't hurt me. She knew I knew a lot, and she wasn't responding like a Controller who'd been called out. "Jyn? Baze? Maybe a hand?"

[I do not wish to demorph here,] Baze said. [This human residence could be observed.]

"Let's go downstairs," said Ellie, or Vonil, or whatever she was. She opened what looked like a closet door, ushering me inside.

[How long is this gonna take?] Leia asked. [I should go tell—our friends—to demorph before we get out of range.]

"It may be some time," Ellie said, as if she talked with Andalites every day.

[Just a minute,] said Leia, relaying the information. [Okay, let's go.]

"Where are the morphers?" Ellie asked.

"Small," I said.

"Clever. Don't worry, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to."

"Is that supposed to help?" I asked.

We got in the closet, and then the floor began to slowly descend. As we made our way underground, Ellie began her story.

How a species called Pemalites had evolved millennia ago, across the galaxy. How they had come to live in peace and unity throughout their solar system, slowly forgetting the ways of weaponry even as their technology continued to advance. How they created a sentient species of androids, the Chee, to share the galaxy with them.

How they had been ravaged by terrible, deadly creatures called Howlers, and how the Pemalites had forgotten any concept of fighting back.

The elevator halted briefly, then shunted horizontally. Ellie continued to explain how the few surviving Pemalites had tasked the Chee with guarding an ancient energy source, or some kind of advanced technology that they feared was too dangerous to use. How they had come to the remote, verdant planet called Earth, and lived hundreds upon hundreds of seemingly-human lives, as they mourned their creators' legacy.

Suddenly, we were on the edge of a brilliant green landscape. Like the Andalites' dome ship, almost, but full of Earth creatures. Grass and flowers and mostly dogs, dogs running and yipping and pooping all over the place. I wished Han were there; his dog Chewie would have loved it.

"Convergent evolution," she said. "The Pemalites were joyful, energetic, social creatures, much like these. We took your ancient wolves to be the intelligent species of Earth, at first."

Slowly, Jyn and Baze resumed their Andalite shapes. Ellie had dropped her hologram, and was a small creature much like the dogs surrounding her. Leia held back, not willing to give up our secret.

"Huh," said Ellie. And then, "You tried to walk on top of the monkey bars when you were in second grade. You almost killed yourself."

"What does that have to do with anything!" I blurted.

"The Andalites have not been on Earth for _that_ long. We would have known."

"You sure you're on our side?"

"If you oppose the Yeerks and seek freedom for this planet, then yes, I am on your side."

[Go for it,] Leia said, demorphing from fly even as I turned into a leopard. Just to show off, I guess. I mean, how many times do you get to impress your crush by turning into a leopard, even if she's not all human either? That began another round of back-and-forths introductions: Jyn and Baze, Ellie's mom, whose name turned out to be Chee-kalra, and we spoke on behalf of Luke, Han, and Chirrut, while the dogs ran away howling. I guess they don't like leopards very much.

"We wondered," Ellie asked. "You take care not to kill human-Controllers. Some of us had suspected."

[Us?] I asked. [So are you a Controller, or what?]

"I infiltrated the Sharing, yes, and some of my fellows have as well. But I cannot be infested; I've isolated a Yeerk within my hologram, feeding them with Kandrona rays and projecting the image that it returns to feed in the pool."

[That is a harsh treatment,] said Jyn.

[And you do not fight?] Baze asked.

"I have a precise digital record of Lando on the monkey bars nine years ago. I was there when the monks built the first missions along this coast," said Ellie. "I emptied chamber pots during the plague. I built madaris and cave dwellings. If I were to harm another sentient being, I would be left with perfect recollection of the deed for the rest of my existence."

[So you're limited,] Jyn said, [by your programming.]

"So are you. Your physical programming just isn't as elegant."

* * *

_Plink, plink, plink._ I swerved to the left, then the right, mowing down another row of bricks in the breakout game. The angles flashed in front of me, as I tried to gauge the quick motions. Left...right…

My ball crashed to the bottom of the screen, and the arcade machine's bright lights announced my failure. Couldn't even input my initials for a top-ten score.

"Don't suppose you have another quarter on you?" I teased. Ellie was watching me play, having gotten bored with trying to "play" it herself.

"There's a line, doofus," she said.

I stepped aside, only to notice Han waving from across the room. Just two mall rats trying to set our own records, like we'd been before we met Obiwan.

"Did I miss something?" he said, hustling over to greet us. "This a business meeting?"

"Stop acting surprised that I managed to land a second date," I said.

"Aren't you two...like..."

"He's a little tall for me," Ellie said, "but I've seen worse. A lot worse."

I wasn't going to tell Han, but it kind of surprised me, too. But Ellie claimed she liked me for myself—I was brave enough to take on the Yeerks, week in and week out, and not complain about it _too_ much. I guess she hadn't met too many kids who could take aliens in stride, in any century.

"When do I get to see your games?" she went on. "Lando tells me you have all the cool ones."

"They're a little simple for you, aren't they?" Han said. "And kind of...gory."

"What," I said, "you think Ellie can't handle a little blood and guts? Is this because she's a _girl_?"

We laughed, stupidly and loudly, probably annoying the rest of the arcade. "It's just a game," Ellie said, and at least for our tiny corner of the galaxy I believed her.


End file.
